Richmond upon Thames

Richmond upon Thames is an outer borough of south-west London, located on both sides of the River Thames in Middlesex, England. Until 1501, Richmond was known as Shene, and, after King Henry VII of England founded a palace there, he named it "Richmond" after his former earldom; the town was soon renamed in honor of the palace and the Earl of Richmond. Queen Elizabeth I of England often spent time at the palace, and she died there in 1603. The bulk of the palace decayed by 1779, and the rest of the town remained mostly agricultural land until late in the century. In 1777, a bridge was built in Richmond to replace an earlier ferry crossing, and it began to prosper and expand during the 19th century; the construction of a railroad in 1846 led to the town's absorption into Greater London. In 1896, electricity was introduced to Richmond. The town lost several young residents during World War I and World War II, and 96 people and 297 houses were lost during The Blitz of 1940-41. In 1965, Richmond upon Thames became a London borough, including Richmond proper as well as Barnes, Hampton Wick, Mortlake, Strawberry Hill, Teddington, and Twickenham. In 2081, Richmond upon Thames had 196,904 residents, of which 71.4% were white British, 11.9% other white, 2.8% Indian, 2.5% other Asian, 2.5% Irish, .9% Chinese, .9% African, .6% Pakistani, and .5% Bangladeshi, among others.